The Indiana Senate Education committee is considering this week whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to pay in-state tuition at Indiana colleges and universities. Kokomo Representative Mike Karickhoff says his bill is not meant as an attack on illegal immigrants in Indiana. He says if it is discovered a student is paying a resident rate and shouldn’t, they would not be reported to the federal government or kicked out of school. The student would just have to pay out-of-state tuition. But immigration attorney Angela Adams says the bill would punish students who deserve a chance at higher education.

Adams suggests amending the bill to allow students who have lived in the state for at least three years and graduated from an Indiana high school to be eligible for in-state tuition. She says at least ten other states have adopted such a measure.

Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Brandon Smith reports from the Indiana Statehouse.